Slow Cooker Chicken Curry is made with coconut milk, chicken breasts, an easy curry powder seasoning blend and sweet potatoes. This Crock-Pot Indian curry is healthy, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner when served with rice.
Want a few other easy curry recipes? You might also enjoy this Chickpea Curry, Salmon Curry, and Chicken Korma Curry
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
This chicken curry recipe was first created a few years ago for our annual Christmas party and has since become a family (and reader!) favorite.
It’s super quick to put together.
Easy to meal prep ahead of time.
And tastes JUST as good as your favorite Indian restaurant’s yellow curry dish.
I’m being for realz here.
Not only is the Indian-style creamy sauce FULL of curry and coriander flavor…
It’s loaded with big chunks of sweet potatoes…
But it is also made with =coconut milk and WITHOUT any dairy or heavy cream!
Yup! You can enjoy a big ole’ Crock-pot full of this soupy goodness without a lick of lactose guilt.
Ingredients
The ingredients you will need are relatively simple to find at your local grocery store and include:
- Chicken – One pound of chicken breasts are used in this recipe. There is no need to pound them thin or tenderize them before cooking since the slow cooker does the work for you.
- See the section below if you would like to make this into a vegan yellow curry.
- Coconut Milk – Two cans of full-fat and lite coconut milk were both tested in this recipe. Using all full-fat milk will make the curry more creamy whereas two cans of lite milk will be lower in fat and calories but a bit runny. You can also choose to use a combination of the two.
- Sweet Potatoes – Unlike a traditional yellow curry recipe, this one uses sweet potatoes instead of Russet or Idaho potatoes. Feel free to substitute these orange beauties with their whiter cousins if that’s what you have on hand.
- Onion – A sweet onion was used to test this dish, but a white, yellow, or red onion can also be used.
- Garlic – Crushed garlic adds a nice flavor to the dish. Garlic powder can also be substituted.
- Yellow Curry Seasoning – A blend of a few simple Indian spices make up the bulk of the flavor in this recipe.
Yellow Curry Seasoning
While you can technically buy the yellow curry paste at your local grocery store, I much prefer to blend up my own curry spices at home.
To make a curry seasoning mix you will need:
- Curry Powder – These come in mild, medium, and hot when bought in the bulk section at grocery stores. Mild or medium is recommended for this recipe.
- Most commercial brands, such as McCormick, are a mild heat.
- Turmeric Powder – Watch out for this one as it definitely stains white countertops!
- Coriander – Please don’t leave this one out. It gives the dish a wonderful nuttiness.
- Sugar – Just a touch of white sugar is used to sweeten the sauce. Feel free to leave it out if you are on a Whole30 or Paleo diet.
- Salt and Pepper – Adjust these according to your taste preferences.
Preparing the Potatoes
An important step when making this Crock-pot curry is how big or small you cut your potatoes.
If you like super soft sweet potatoes, you’ll want to cut the potatoes close to 1/2-inch cubes.
However, if you prefer your potatoes on the firmer side, 1-inch cubes will cook completely while still holding their shape.
No matter what size, you’ll definitely want to peel the sweet potatoes before adding them to the slow cooker.
If not, the peel will start to separate from the potato while cooking.
How to Make
This chicken curry is a quick and easy meal that you can prep ahead for busy weeks.
Here is an overview of the step-by-step instructions you will need to follow.
- Pour all but 1 cup of coconut milk into the bottom of a 6-quart Crock-Pot.
- Add butter, garlic, and seasoning ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Place chicken into the slow cooker.
- Add sweet potatoes and onions. Stir to combine.
- Cover Crock-Pot with the lid and cook on High for 4-5 hours, or Low for 5-6 hours.
- Shred the chicken using two forks during the last 30 minutes of cooking. (Step 1 above.)
- Pour in remaining 1 cup of coconut milk. Stir until well combined. (Steps 2 and 3 above.)
Instant Pot Chicken Curry
What if you don’t have 5 or 6 hours to kill and want to make a chicken curry in a hurry?
If you have a pressure cooker, you’ll want to check out this Instant Pot Yellow Chicken Curry recipe.
It’s super similar to this one, except it uses white potatoes and carrots instead of sweet potatoes.
But you can always sub sweet potatoes instead!
Serving
Once the chicken is tender and shredded, the potatoes are soft, you’ll want to stir the curry and let it sit in the Crock-Pot for at least 20 minutes before serving.
This additional time allows the coconut milk to come back together if it separated while cooking and thicken up.
What to serve with chicken curry?
Traditionally, curry dishes are served with a side of basmati rice in Indian restaurants.
You can either make this Instant Pot Basmati Rice or serve it with a side of traditional white or brown rice.
If you want to limit your carbs, it would also taste great with cauliflower rice.
Storing
Chicken curry is much like soups and stews in that it refrigerates and freezes exceptionally well.
In fact, I often find that curry tastes even better after a few days of the flavors melding together.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Freeze leftover yellow curry in a freezer-safe container for up to 4-6 months.
Vegetarian or Vegan Curry
A simple way to make this chicken curry fit for a vegetarian is to leave out the chicken and substitute it for 2 cans of drained chickpeas.
You can leave all of the other ingredients the same!
Need a Crock-Pot?
Slow cookers are an extremely affordable kitchen appliance that are well worth the space they take up in your kitchen. They come in various sizes, but I would highly encourage you to get at least a 6-QT Crock-Pot
. This will give you plenty of room to make big batches of soup, stew or this coconut milk chicken curry.
Sometimes your slow cooker can be a bit of a hassle to clean-up. If you want to save even more time, these Slow Cooker Liners
can be thrown away after use.
Other Easy Curry Recipes
You might also enjoy these other healthy curry recipes:
Salmon Curry with Coconut Milk
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry is made with coconut milk, chicken breasts, an easy curry powder seasoning blend and sweet potatoes. This Crock-Pot Indian curry is healthy, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner when served with rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp. curry powder mild
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- ½ tsp. ground coriander
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 15-oz. cans coconut milk lite or full fat
- 2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 cups sweet potatoes peeled, cut into ½ to 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium sweet onion finely diced
- Rice cooked
- Cilantro optional
- See this recipe in Meal Plan #6
Instructions
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Whisk together curry powder, turmeric, coriander, salt and sugar in a small bowl.
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Pour all but 1 cup of coconut milk into the bottom of a 6-quart Crock-Pot. Reserve remaining coconut milk until after curry is done cooking.
-
Add butter, garlic, and the seasoning ingredients. Stir to incorporate the seasonings.
-
Place chicken breasts into the slow cooker, making sure to submerge them in the liquid.
-
Add sweet potatoes and onions. Stir to combine.
-
Cover slow cooker and set to Low for 5-6 hours, or High for 4-5 hours.
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Check on curry during the last hour of cooking and stir the ingredients if the curry is starting to stick to the sides.
-
Shred chicken using two forks during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
-
Pour in reserved 1 cup of coconut milk. Stir until well combined.
-
Turn off slow cooker and let rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. This will help thicken up the sauce. Serve chicken curry with basmati rice and additional cilantro, if desired, and enjoy! See this recipe in Meal Plan #6.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Nutritional info is calculated with "lite" coconut milk and no rice.
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Jenn says
Can’t wait to eat this for dinner, throwing it in the crockpot now. I never know whether to use EVERYTHING in the coconut milk cans, or just the liquid? Thanks!
London says
Hi Jenn! If your coconut milk is separated in the can (this usually happens when it’s a bit cold outside!), simply blend all of the can contents in a high-speed blender and then add it to the slow cooker. Hope this helps!
Asia says
This recipe looks delicious! Quick question: I’m not a big fan of coconut. Does this dish have an overpowering coconut flavor or is the coconut milk really just a base? Can anything be used as a substitute for the coconut milk without compromising the dish?
London says
Hi Asia! The coconut milk is definitely the base of this dish and may carry a bit of a coconut flavor. If you want to try experimenting with a different type of milk you can always try using cashew milk or another milk with a pretty thick consistency. If you do, let me know… I would love to hear how it turns out!
Jada says
Help! I forgot to add the water and I am 4 hrs deep in cooking on high. It’s already pretty watery…. should I add water now? Also the coconut milk cans were 13.5 oz each.
London says
Hi Jada! You should be OK! Just monitor it and make sure the chicken is not burning. If it looks like it is sticking to the sides of the slow cooker then you can always add the water! Hope this helps 🙂
John says
Water? where does it say that on the instructions? How much water?
London says
Hi John! I’ve updated the recipe since then and found that the water is no longer needed. Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Bobby-Jo says
Incredibly delicious!! My 14 year old son and 11 year old son gobbled it up, I can’t stop eating it! Plenty of leftovers too 🙂 Can’t wait to cook it for hubby when he returns from his trip. Thanks for sharing <3
London says
Yay, Bobby-Jo!! So happy you and your boys enjoyed it. Thank you so much for your sweet comment. Hope your hubby loves it, too!
Lea O says
I did in fact made my version of this using Indian yellow curry and added plent of vegetables – eggplant and green beans in addition to carrots and 1 green bell pepper. Here is what I did with the sauce: I chopped up a couple of wedges of onions, diced ginger and garlic, and sauteed them with 1 tspn olive oil. Then added the coconut milk, garam masala, 2 tablespoons of indian curry, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1 tspn of crushed red pepper. Poured this over the chicken and carrots, set on high for 6 hours, then added the other veggies after 3 hours (this is to ensure they don’t become mushy and are left whole with the right tenderness). Left to cook again the rest of the 3 hours and voila! an amazing crockpot of delicious curried chicken and veggies.
London says
Oh my goodness, Lea! I LOVE all of your additions to this curry. You definitely pumped up the nutrition with all of those incredible veggies. Thanks so much for sharing your variations and for rating the recipe!
Tamara Disibio says
I may have missed it but what is the serving size for this?
London says
Hi Tamara! I am not sure exactly, but it is about 1.5 cups. Also, the nutritional info is calculated with “lite” coconut milk and no rice!
Melissa says
What is the serving size of the recipe? For caloric information. I have never made curry dishes before and this is amazing! So flavorful and easy! Thank you so much!
London says
Hi Melissa! I am not sure exactly, but it is about 1.5 cups. Also, the nutritional info is calculated with “lite” coconut milk and no rice!
Melissa says
Awesome! Thank you so much! I’ve shared this site to so many friends already!! This and your chicken tortilla soup recipe are amazing! Now I just need to add them to my fitness pal!
London says
That’s awesome, Melissa!! Thank you so much for sharing with your friends. The chicken tortilla soup is one of my faves, too 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting!
Anna Yu says
So I tried this last night since I had all the ingredients and was craving for some Thai curry. My fiancé loved it! He’s good cook so he’s my best food critic. Thank you for sharing! Easy to make and really delicious! I’ll definitely add this on my regular dinner recipes!
London says
I’m so happy to hear that, Anna! It’s one of our favorites when we’re craving curry, too. Thanks so much for commenting 🙂
Chelsea says
Could I do this not in a slow cooker? Maybe just stovetop?
London says
Absolutely Chelsea!! The chicken may not be quite as tender (since it won’t cook for hours) but the flavor should turn out great!
Lizzie says
Hi! I’ve been doing some slow cooker curry recipe research and so many of the comments on so many of the recipes deal with the coconut milk curdling in the crock pot. Has this been an issue you’ve encounter? Would this recipe still work if I added the coconut milk 30 minutes before serving as other sites/comments have recommended? I’m a “coconut milk in the slow cooker” novice and pretty much don’t want to screw up the main meal when making dinner for my parents. I don’t have a great track record ….
London says
Hi Lizzie! I have not personally had an issue with the coconut milk curdling in the crock pot. Make sure you use a full-fat, canned coconut milk (I like the Thai Kitchen brand and Goya brand of coconut milks the best!) If you do decide to add it at the end, you may need to add a bit more water at the beginning to ensure the chicken does not burn. Let me know what you do… I would love to hear!